Green had his first clearance request refused by Brunswick in April 1926, but crossed to Melbourne anyway. He'd debuted with Brunswick in 1923, but withdrew from football for a year after one game and didn't return until midway through 1924.

A versatile player, he played forward, back and in the midfielder through every game of the year until the Grand Final, where he was dropped as part of a reshuffle to replace the injured Bob Corbett. He was the first VFL player ever to play every game for the season then be dropped before a premiership.

Green then moved to Sydney as captain of Eastern Suburbs. He played for New South Wales against Victoria in 1928 before returning to the VFL in 1929. He then went to Warragul, before returning to Melbourne for one more senior game in 1931, before playing with the Seconds through 1932. From 1933 to 1935 he lived in Maryborough as part of his job with the Vacuum Oil Company, training with their footy team in June 1934, before moving to Dimboola in 1936.